New strip mall draws businesses to Houston Highway

Need space?

For tenant information about the new strip mall, call U.S. Industries Group Inc. at 812-425-2428.

Completion of a new strip center will bring businesses to Houston Highway.

U.S. Industries Group is about halfway through a construction project that would open a 36,000-square-foot strip mall in Victoria.

"A lot of these types of strip malls go up around Wal-Mart, and there is an H-E-B down the street, so it's a good traffic area," said Will Schnakenburg, vice president of U.S. Industries Group.

The plaza also has tenants lined up to open some time this summer, Schnakenburg said.

So far, the plaza will include Aaron's Rent To Own and a second location for Dollar Tree, he said. There are still opportunities for other businesses to fill space in the plaza as well.

The Indiana-based company has been building strip malls for about 15 years and is working in six states, including 10 similar strip malls in Beeville, Baytown, Corpus Christi and other Texas cities, Schnakenburg said.

Sarah Porras, who will manage the new Dollar Tree, is excited to open the second location.

"(Management) has been talking about it for a while," she said. "Now that Victoria is growing so much, it's a good time."

The new location will be smaller than the Navarro store but will offer patrons a wider selection of food products.

"It's going to have a frozen foods section," Porras, of Victoria, said. "It's going to be something different."

The store is set to open by mid-May if weather permits, she said.

Dollar Tree is beginning to hire for positions for the new store, Porras said. Applicants can apply in person for cashiers and stockers at the Navarro location, and assistant manager applicants can apply online.